Talk:Tigress/@comment-11485786-20140624235217/@comment-11485786-20140625000624
One of the biggest reasons, for me, why Po shouldn't marry a female panda is this: it wouldn't be real. We all know Tigress. We know her backstory, and he know her flaws, and we know her personality. We know the way her relationship has grown with Po over the years, and how despite how different they are and the conflint they had at the beginning of the story, they have become really emotionally close. They understand each other on a level that feels exceptionally real for animated characters, in a way that the audience can relate to. And that's just it, the reason why I love them is this: they're real. In real life, people don't just fall in love with each other due to circumstance. It happens slowly and steadily, so subtley sometimes its hard to notice, and I believe that its something that Tigress and Po have the potential of developing, if the writers pull their strings right. Maybe they already have. To me, for a romance between Po and a female panda to feel real, its going to need a LOT of work. We need to see this girl as something more than just 'Po's girlfriend.' She needs to be her own person. Have a backstory thats unique, a personality thats believable, be able to stand alone as a solid and realistic character. We need to see her relationship with Po start out one way and develope into another in a way that is both meaninful and believable. But the thing is... that's a lot to put in one movie. A whole lot. Sure, it's a cartoon, so the writers can really make Po fall in love with whoever they want and the kids watching won't see anything wrong with it. The only people who'll care will be the people who are probably 'too old' to be watching a cartoon, anyway. Maybe its just me, but to have a romance that I really see and connect with in a movie/book, it has to go beyond the boundaries of 'romance' and really just tell the story of two people, two friends, who complete each other. We have to fall in love with each of them individually, then fall in love with them together, and it just has to very carefully and beautifuly done. The writers have done an amazing job making Tigress and Po have that special friendship and connection, but I'm just not sure how well they'll be able to do it with a female panda, just because of how expected i'll seem. The audience will see Po meet female version of his species, and automatically it will click in their brains 'Po will fall in love with her,' and for the majority of kids films, this does happen. The idea that being the same species is enough of a reason as any to make two characters fall in love. I don't know, I'm not saying its wrong, I'm just saying I wouldn't like it. No matter what'll happen after that, nobody will see the female panda as anything other than that 'female version of Po,' and that wouldn't be right. Good, realistic characters can stand alone; they don't need lables like that. Anyway, I know I'm rambling now, but I'm just saying that I'd love for Tigress and Po's relationship to be further developed in the third movie. It went far in the 2nd, but it could be taken even further, and the prospect excites me :). Hopefully the writers know what they're doing. First off. the obvious; there is something between Tigress and Po.' Whatever it is, it's something on a deeper level than what either of them have with any other character, namely the other Five. It's deeply personal and intimate; not in a phyical way, but closer to an emotional, mental one. It became all too apparent in 'Kung Fu Panda 2', when Tigress expressed her concern for Po in a way she clearly doesn't for anyone else. While Po is clearly admiring and deeply respectful of Tigress as a warrior for her strength and power. She has been expressly stated as being Po's 'favorite' of the Furious Five and as time goes on, it's suggested-even strongly hinted-that he has a crush on her. Tigress has, in my view, made the decision to step up and be more than just Po's fellow warrior. She's stepped up to be his companion and closest friend. She's his sounding board and, quite possibly, the only other person besides Shifu who can and will kick his butt when he needs it. She will be harsh when she needs to be, but soft when it's needed. She wants Po to be better and she shows that she believes he can and so pushes and encourages him to do his best. Which he does. Does all this-to say nothign of their interactions in the second film and the hugs-translate into a potential romance? We don't know and no one can say otherwise. I will say this, though; I do not believe, for an instant, that Po would ever willfully leave the Valley of Peace. Finding the pandas alive wouldn't change this. Let's be real here; even if this panda girl is a potential love interest for Po (which we still are unware of), he's not going to just up and leave the home he's always known, the father who raised him, the master who trianed him and whom he's come to think of as a second- father, the friends he's made AND his duties as the Dragon Warrior... all for a girl. She'd still be someone he doesn't know all that well and even if he does like her, he wouldn't abandon his responsibilites to the rest of China for someone \he will likely have known for only a short while. Yes, it could easily be argued that Po has another obligation by this point, and that would be to the surviving pandas. I've seen people here argue that Po 'should' find a female panda, fall in love with her, get married and have a little panda family with her because, panda survival. And honestly? I think that actually might play a role in the next film. After realizing that his son is alive, Po's birth father goes searching for him and during his travels, discovers he is, in fact, the 'Dragon Warrior' and he is lead ot the Valley of Peace, where Mr. Ping's own advertisements lead him to the noodle shop... to find Po waiting tables and Mr. Ping proudly declaring Po to be HIS son. Either this, or he travels to the Jade Palace to find Po there with the Furious Five. Shock and disbelief ensues and an explanation follows. Po's father encourages him to come to the panda hideout and the Five go with them, leaving a very worried Mr. Ping behind... or he may, in fact, decide to come along to meet Po's birth family and people. Genral fanfare upon arrival and Po gets lots of praise and honors thrown his way. Po is pleased and embarrassed. At some point, Po meets the female panda. We don't know what's going to happen here, but I believe, at some point, marriage will be encouraged and possibly even pushed upon Po to another female panda. THey will say it's 'fated' and remind him of how few pandas there are left and saying as the Dragon Warrior, he can ensure their people's continuation and protection. This is, I think, a very likely scenario to play out in the third movie and something I see Po as being extremely torn about; on the one hand, he's found his people, his birth father. alive and well and surviving but smaller in numbers than they were before. They will need other pandas to ensure their continuing. On the other hand; he loves his home in the Valley of Peace. He is, beyond his wildest dreams, not only a kung fu warrior, but the Dragon Warrior of legend. He has Mr. Ping, who raised him as his son,. He has Master Shifu, his master in kung fu who, despite their rocky start, have formed a deep bond not unlike that of a parental figure and his son. He fights along side the Furious Five, whom he's long admired and idolized and are now, his closest firends and comrades. They've fought together through dangerous times and have come out on top despite overwhelming odds. Does that sound like the kind of situation anyone would want to be stuck in the middle of? Does that sound like something Po would have an easy time with? It's not going to be easy. Especially when you take into account how much Po always tries to do the right thing; to be a good friend, to be the Dragon Warrior that people expect him to be. To be a good son. Many of these expectations are ones Po never envisioned having. He's going to be pulled in two different directions. Po strives to do his best and wants to make other happy, but in THIS situation? He knows someone is going to be hurt and let down by whatever choice he makes. I will say this; if Po is ever going to be involved with someone on a romantic level, it will never, ever be out of obligation. I've seen people use the 'Ice Age: THe Meltdown' comparison with Manny and Ellie. But they leave out something important; in the end, Manny and Ellie got together because they wanted to be together. Not out of obligation when they believed they were the only mammoths left, which it turns out they weren't. Po is not the only panda left. That much was made clear. People suggesting that he WILL get together with this unnamed panda girl because they 'have to make cute little panda babies' is NOT a good reason. For anyone. Despite wanting to aid his people, that's not something I see Po doing at all. IF Po ends up with anyone-whether it be TIgress or this panda girl- he will be with them because he wants to be. Po would wnat to marry someone he loves, not someone he can have children with. That's not who he is and really, it's not a good message at all.